The Sacrifice
by LeoAries1
Summary: —-2x10 DE massive one-shot—-  "Damon let go of me!" She ordered, punching and punching at his chest. "Damon let go of me!"


**Before you begin reading, let me say some things. Firstly, I thank each and every one of you that reads my fics. You literally do not know how much it means to be. It molds me into a better writer and your praise is outstanding. So thank you. Secondly, this is not a continuation scene or an interrupted scene. This is a massive one-shot that I'm deciding to do. It's 3 scenes from the episode "The Sacrifice". Basically, it's three huge scenes put together in the forms of words as the television show is the visual form. I hope you enjoy.**

**I do not own the vampire diaries in any way.**

Elena took a sip of her water. She was…well, nervous as hell. She was facing death and she knew it. Everyone knew it. But this had to be done. She had to get away and give in. The thought of anyone else getting hurt because of her doing was simply a thought that had caused her pain. Nobody should have to die for her. For her. She was nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary, just a simple teenage girl. She could die and everyone would be safe. She was willing to, at least.

Slater's house was comfortable yet frightening. She was watched by two hawks named Rose and Alice, Slater's friend. Rose had taken her here. Had agreed to help her. She couldn't help but feel eternally grateful to her. Because of Rose, Elena would be able to save her friends.

The cold water ran down her throat and she turned…only to find someone standing right behind her. She gasped, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her. As she recognized the individual, she wished she had been knocked out.

"What are _you _doing here?" A clearly pissed Damon asked her. His eyes were deadly but she found no fear from looking into them.

She asked him the same thing,"What are you doing here?" His eyes focused on something just above her head, so she turned around and ended up facing Rose. She was walking into the room with a sheepish and guilty look on her face. Elena stared in horror. "You called him?"

"I'm sorry, Elena." she offered.

"You said that you understood." She spat, betrayal coursing through her body rapidly. Pain was in her chest. She just couldn't believe this. Rose had betrayed her.

"She lied." Damon said in a snarky tone behind her. Rose looked at him indifferently. Elena spun back around to face him, her face twisted in numerous expressions. The most visible was anger. For a moment she was speechless.

He looked down on her and tilted his head toward the door. "C'mon. We're leaving."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No."

He took a step closer to her, knowing that he could overpower her in a heartbeat. She would stand nothing against him. "I said we're _leaving_."

She glared at him. "I'm_ not _going with you."

Irritated, he replied, "You do not get to make decisions any more." This had to be the absolute worst thing she could ever choose to do, he thought. Absolutely. How much of an idiot was she? And why did she have to be so damn stubborn? It drove him insane.

Her brow scrunched. "When have I ever made a decision?" Damon looked at her, seeing immaturity in her eyes. This was immature of her to do. Claim that she never makes her own choices. Maybe it's true, maybe it isn't. He just doesn't care what she thinks about this any more. "You and Stefan do that for me. Now this is _my_ decision. "

He could almost laugh out loud. "Who's going to save your life while you're out making decisions?"

"You're not listening to me Damon. I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is going to kill every single person that I love."

That phrase hit him like a ton of bricks. She didn't…want..to be saved? No. Absolutely not. No. No no no no no. The word repeated itself in his head.

Enough of this. "Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

Her eyes became slanted as she considered this threat. When she didn't move, he snatched her arm and she reacted violently by trying to shake him off. He pulled on her. "No." she protested. She pulled and tugged in protest before whipping her hand around to give him a hard slap to the face. _Damn his reflexes, _she scowled. He caught her hand just a second before it impacted with him, his eyes and face showing no fear that she was going to hit him the moment she lifted a finger.

Her hand was beginning to ache as he clutched it. It didn't exactly hurt, but the feeling was uncomfortable. She exhaled pitifully and he drew her closer and closer to him. She met his eyes and found herself stuck there, gazing into the mysterious blue of them. He managed to get them so close that she could almost taste his breath. His eyes fluttered to her lips and hers to his. Whispering now, he warned, "Don't ever do that again." all the while keeping her eyes locked to his. The message was clear but knowing Elena, she had no intention of sticking to it.

Her breathing was ragged and he didn't fail to notice. He released her now, and she stared after him unsure of what to do next. She obviously wasn't going to be staying here. Damon would rather die than allow that.

She found herself waiting on the couch under the supervision of Rose. Her face was pouty and folded her arms over herself. Damon thrust open a door to god only knows where and declared, "Time to go. Alice's is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."

And just then, a loud bang. All three heads turned to watch as the front doors to Slater's house were knocked open. Three men came wandering in.

One of them announced their purpose. "We're here to meet the doppleganger."

Relief rushed through Elena at once. This was her chance. "Thank you for coming," she thanked them, taking a few steps forward to embrace them. She was stopped by the hard, tight grip of Damon.

"I will break your arm." he slowly growled through clenched teeth. She looked up at him angerly but he gave no notice. The three men watched on curiously.

Damon faced them bravely. "There's nothing here for you."

And just then, the man in the far back fell to the floor in an agonized groan. Behind him stood a man that didn't even react as the body of the man he just killed lay there unmoving. The other two turned around almost too slowly. Elena stared on, feeling like none of this was real. She was horrified.

The new man moved quickly and stood next to the first two. He glanced at each Damon, Elena, and then Rose. That is, before Rose fled from the scene. Typical. The man's eyes rested on Elena and they stood there in silence, staring at each other.

"I killed you. You were dead." Damon blurted out. He had blurted this out because the new man was indeed none other than the original vampire Elijah. The very Elijah that Damon did kill.

"For centuries now." Elijah replied sarcastically. "Who are you?" softly he addressed one of the men that first punched their way through the door.

"Who are _you_?" The man asked in a smart ass tone.

"I'm Elijah."

The man's expression turned into shock. His mouth gaped open and his eyes bulged. "We were gonna bring her to you," he explains. "For Klaus. She's the doppleganger. I don't know how she exists but she does. Klaus will want to see her."

Elijah looked at Elena but still spoke to the man beside him. "Does anyone else know that you're here?"

"No."

"Well then you have been incredibly helpful." His gaze flickered between the two men before he suddenly rammed his fists into their chests and pulled from them two red bulging organs. Each man fell to the floor in a loud cry. Elena's jaw dropped and Elijah dropped the hearts casually.

Damon moved now, positioning himself protectively in front of Elena. If Elijah was going to go for her, he wouldn't be able to do so without a fight.

Elijah noticed this. Elena blinked one minute to find him staring at them, and the next he was gone. Poof. He fled. Damon looked behind him curiously as if making sure that Elena was still there. She met his eyes, shock and horror still printed upon her face.

Damon looked back toward the doors, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Thank you for bringing me home." Elena said, walking up the stairs to her front porch. Damon trailed behind her, not quite ready for them to depart.

"Well you're ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded." He said almost comically. They both stopped in front of the door. She looked at him defensively. Despite the fact Rose had betrayed her, she couldn't help but stand up for the poor vampire.

"She was just scared. She didn't..mean to run." She looked down now, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Yes she did." he argued. "She's been running for 500 years."

Elena changed the subject quite quickly. "I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just..let us go?" Her brown eyes blinked at him, curious as to what he had to say about the whole ordeal.

"If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me.." he began, the brooding mood between them almost lightened. She looked away, deciding it was time for her to leave.

She was angry, and she had every right to be. As she made her way toward the door, she was once again stopped by Damon for the third time today. He spun her sideways to face him, her expression scowling.

"What you did today was incredibly stupid." He said to her. It was almost like talking to a small child, one that needed to be scolded for foolish and dumb acts. To him, that was exactly what it was. But not to her.

"Actually the only thing stupid was that I got _caught_." she spat, tugging her arm out of his grasp. He let go of her and she glared at him. "I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you."

He stared at her now, trying to find the double meaning in her words. Was she saying that she would give up her life for Damon? Deep down he knew that she would, but maybe it was only because of Stefan. After all, everything was about Stefan, wasn't it?

But maybe this time it wasn't. Maybe she genuinely wanted to protect Damon. He meant something to her. He blinked, unsure of how to respond to her. Honestly, she was pretty right. It seemed…natural to want to protect her. He would do anything. But the moment she tried the same thing he had grown angry at her. Was that fair?

Unfortunately the conversation was cut short. She heard someone open the door, but before looking to see who it was, she whispered, "Damon, goodnight. Okay?"

They both turned to find Jeremy standing in the doorway with an expression of concern. He was staring at Elena.

"What?" Damon spat, pissed off that he had interrupted them and by the situation in general.

"Stefan." was all he whispered.

Elena could not get down the stone steps fast enough. Her eyes locked onto the entrance to the tomb. She was blinded by the love for Stefan. All she could think about was him being stuck in there with Katherine. She rushed quickly, almost tripping over her own two feet in the process.

"Stefan!" she cried out, running past the lit torches and looking deep into the tomb. "Stefan!" she called out, calling him to her.

She leaned forward, about to take another step, when someone behind her grabbed her roughly. She let out a heaving sound at the surprise of the action. And then she was pinned against the stone wall, stone ramming into her back.

"Don't you dare." The words were dark and menacing, and Damon's eyes blazed into hers. She looked at him as if he were insane.

"Stefan's in there, Damon. How could you let this happen?" she hissed, blaming it all on him. It was his fault. Stefan was trapped because of him.

"What are you talking about, I was too busy saving you from your crazy kamikaze mission." He said now seeming to be more calm.

She cried to him, "You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place." The accusations just kept rolling off of her tongue.

"It was the right call, Elena."

"Right call!" she repeated angerly. "How is any of this the right call!" And then she punched at his chest, struggling with all of her might to get him to release her. His grip grew tighter and she was helpless prey against the fierce predator. "Damon let go of me!" She ordered, punching and punching at his chest. "_Damon let go of me!" _Tears swelled in her eyes. She was going insane with the desire to be free from his grasp. "Let go of me! Let go of me!… Let go of me," she pleaded now, looking into his eyes desperately. Her voice faltered and she choked back her tears, "Please."

She took in huge gasps of air, her violent spasm had taken a large toll on her. He simply held her, arms in places that she would use to break free of him if she tried again.

"You done?" he asked simply. And then, he released her. She looked him up and down, wondering if she could be quick enough.

Might as well give it a shot.

She stepped toward the tomb but instantly crashed into his chest. He held a finger up in warning. She stared at him in defeat. She wasn't getting into that tomb. Her face scrunched and she ran a hand loosely through her hair. "Tch." she spit, stalking past him to exit the damp, underground room.

Damon watched her leave, deciding that stopping her would be useless. She needed time alone. He turned, blinking with eyes fixed on the dirt ground. This wasn't a very good feeling. Her hatred toward him. Her accusations. Each of them speared his chest and crawled through him. It was a sinking feeling, one he had felt many times before. This time it overwhelmed him.

Was he the bad guy for protesting against her?

Or the good guy for keeping her safe?

He turned now, facing the tomb. "Of all the idiot plans, Stefan." His brother came toward the entrance to meet him. "I'll find a way to get you out." Damon promised sincerely.

Stefan huffed. "That's alright. I'll, uh, I'll handle myself. Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her. Try to figure out how to despell."

"You martyr yourself in a tomb and I get partnered with a semi-confident witch. Wonderful." Damon replied in fake, bitter cheerfulness.

"Keep Elena away from here." Stefan replied at last.

"Yeah." his brother laughed. "'cause that'll be easy."

"Promise me. No matter what happens, you'll protect her."

The two brothers stared at one another, trust radiating between them. Damon kept his gaze before replying. "Promise." He turned and began to make his way out of this underground hell hole.

He promised that he would protect Elena, and he would.

He would_ always _protect Elena.


End file.
